Opinion
Change ‘for the long haul’
WPR director Sarah Ashworth says that the restructuring, a product of a two-year planning process, does not change the station’s mission which is still to 'inform and inspire and to build communities throughout Wisconsin and the world.' Read more
May 3, 2024
In praise of pork
Tammy Baldwin is a master at bringing home the bacon. She even touts it on her own website. Read more
May 1, 2024
AJ Storr should have had a contract
Last week Bucky buckets lost AJ Storr, its leading scorer and only genuine NBA-caliber player, to Kansas, and it lost its veteran point guard and team leader, Chucky Hepburn, to the transfer portal. Read more
Apr 26, 2024
What happened to NPR and PBS?
The NewsHour and the NPR news shows were, in their best days, the gold standard for what broadcast journalism — or any journalism — should be. Read more
Apr 18, 2024
NIMBY v. YIMBY
Most Madisonians agree on a few things: Housing costs are too high; sprawl is bad; and mass transit is good. How to translate into policy is where things get gnarly. Read more
Apr 11, 2024
Assignment: Make an ‘Isthmus’ cover
Isthmus cover illustrator Mitchell Volk recreated the experience for his graphic design students at UW-Madison. Read more
Apr 10, 2024
Desperately seeking choice
A number of third party candidates have emerged to address voter dissatisfaction in the all-but-certain presidential candidates. Votes for the 'uninstructed' camp are another sign of frustration. Read more
Apr 6, 2024
10:30 AM
Keep private money out of Wisconsin elections
Most of the funding from the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life for Wisconsin went to five cities, all of which voted for Joe Biden in 2020. Read more
Mar 30, 2024
12:30 PM
When a journalist took a stand against a powerful senator from Wisconsin
Sandy Flores Ruiz, a student at West High School and a student editor at Simpson Street Free Press, won first place in the Wisconsin Civics Games Editorial Contest with this essay. Read more
Mar 29, 2024
10:30 AM
Some concerns about incoming Madison schools superintendent Joe Gothard
Joe Gothard was the best of the three finalists for Madison superintendent. But low achievement scores in the last school district he ran are concerning. Read more
Mar 21, 2024
2:30 PM
Madison has a housing crisis and we need to build more housing
A west-side homeowner and east-side housing advocate argue for the need for more housing in Madison and challenge the opposition brewing to the city’s rezoning efforts in neighborhoods. Read more
Mar 19, 2024
9:00 AM
What’s meant by a media embargo?
'Embargoes have historically been about giving reporters a head start so they can make the story as good as possible before publication,' says Sue Robinson, a former reporter who is now a journalism professor at UW-Madison. Read more
Mar 12, 2024
9:00 AM
In the May issue
Wisconsin is for the birds
By almost any measure, birdwatching in Wisconsin has never been more popular — with technology making it easier than ever to tell a nuthatch from a chickadee or to post colorful photos on social media sites. Read more
Dinner at Nonna’s
It seems reasonable to assume that at a spaghetti house, you should start with the spaghetti. Also: take the cannoli. Read more
Churches eye redevelopment as buildings age and membership dwindles
‘The status quo for these properties is simply not viable for many of [these churches]. So they will change,’ says Pres House executive director Mark Elsdon. Read more
Auntie Luke explains why constitutional referendums are so confusing
Auntie Luke Explains, a new series by T.L. Luke, demystifies complex topics through the use of comics. She begins this month with an explainer on constitutional amendments that go to statewide referendum. Read more
Behind the Isthmus cover — May 2024
Designer and animator Chris Bennett finds the fun in a Madison run for the May 2024 Isthmus cover. Read more